


Is there life on Mars?

by ObliviousApple



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Best Friend Johnathan, F/M, Follows Plot, Hopper Is Readers Dad, Reader Has A Name, Reader Is a Rebel, Romance, Slow Burn, Steve’s Hair - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-03
Updated: 2019-11-04
Packaged: 2020-11-22 20:17:50
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 19,588
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20880083
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ObliviousApple/pseuds/ObliviousApple
Summary: Reader is Jim Hoppers daughter, and BFFs with Johnathon Byers. Steve “the Hair” Harrington is an airhead...but goddamnit he’s charming. And the fact he’s protecting you from a crazy alien monster with nothing but a bat gives him mad points in your book. Uh oh...the way your stomach goes all floppy when he is around can’t be a good sign.Bad summary, good content. Come take a peek.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I wanted more Steve in my life because his hair is too beautiful not to write a fic about. This story will span throughout the seasons so I hope you are all ready to set sail on this journey with me. 
> 
> Hope you enjoy it!

Hawkins High was the epitome of hell on earth for you. You hated the look of the boring brick exterior that looked more like a prison than an educational center. You hated the smell of it….the mixture of chemicals and teenage pheromones so palpable you could choke on it. Most of all you hated the overall student population in their never-ending quest for social dominance.

Christ, if you weren’t the daughter of the chief of police, you would have been arrested for truancy long before now. You skipped class more often than your father cared to admit. Yet, you kept up your grades, so Dad didn’t really press you on your lack of attendance. In return, you didn’t push him on his fondness for booze and cigarettes.

Glaring at the building before you, you sighed heavily, wishing you had stolen a smoke from the man when you left that morning. Dad had been passed out on the couch, so it would have been easy enough.

A sharp knock on your car window broke you out of your fantasies of smoking alone in the woods instead of heading inside to high school hell.

“You gonna get out, or are you gonna just sit there and glare all day?”

It was the voice of one of the only people you tolerated in this shithole….Alright, more than tolerated. Johnathon Byers was your best friend and closest confidant.

“Shut it Byers,” you commented. “I’m hoping if I stare at it long enough, the building will catch fire.”

“You’ve been reading too many of Will’s comics,” Johnathon laughed.

He opened your car door and you groaned.

“Come on, Erin. Only 186 days left,” he said pulling you from the vehicle.

“This year,” you complained. “We still have another year left to endure.”

“At least we get to endure it together,” he said with a grin as you both walked inside.

“Thank fucking God,” you said dramatically. “I’d lose my fucking mind if I didn’t have you to complain to.”

“That’s what I’m here for,” Johnathon said, rolling his eyes as you both made your way to your lockers. “To listen to all your woes.”

“And you’re wonderful at it,” you said throwing an arm around his waist in a hug.

“Aw, look at that,” said a sneering voice. “The freak found love.”

Carol Thompson, head cheerleader and the school slut was standing a few feet away sneering at the two of you. Most people had learned to leave you alone. You had built a reputation for yourself as someone who was not to be fucked with. It didn’t hurt that a lot of people were afraid of your father as well, so generally you were blessedly ignored. However, Johnathon was an easy target with his brooding silent demeanor. Carol must have been feeling brave today if she were making fun of your best friend right in front of your face.

“Aren’t you late for another abortion, Thompson?” you asked facing her.

You heard a few students around you snigger. Carol’s eyes narrowed in anger.

“Fuck you, bitch,” she said rather unintelligently.

“Hmm, sorry babe, I don’t swing that way,” you said calmly.

The sniggers around you grew, and Carol stomped away.

“You didn’t have to do that,” Johnathon mumbled.

“Pshh, someone needs to take that poodle head down a peg,” you said grabbing your books out of your locker. “Don’t worry about it.”

You reached up (way up as he was much taller than you) and ruffled his hair.

“You didn’t tell her we’re not together,” he mumbled. “People are gonna talk.”

“So? I’m pretty sure people think we’ve been boning since freshman year,” you said with a yawn. “Since you’re the only weirdo I hang out with.”

The two of you had been best friends for years, but it had never been romantic between the two of you. You had kissed once, just to try it, and it had been like kissing your brother. Johnathon had felt the same. The chemistry simply wasn’t there between you, so you remained platonic best friends. However, according to the student population, if a guy and a girl were hanging out all the time they had to be fucking.

“Does that bother you, Byers?” You asked looking up at him. “Think it will hurt your chance with the ladies?”

“What chance?” he mumbled, his eyes on someone across the hall.

You followed his line of sight and chuckled to yourself.  
  


“Still on the Nancy Wheeler train, huh?” you said, knowing your pal had been harboring a crush on her for the last few months.

Sadly, Wheeler seemed to be on a different train. You watched as her eyes lit up as Steve “the Hair” Harrington swaggered up to her. Johnathon’s face darkened and he quickened his steps, causing you to jog to catch up to him.

“Sorry bud,” you said sympathetically. “Don’t worry. Nancy’s a smart girl. She’ll realize that Harrington’s a complete airhead soon enough.”

“Right,” he said just as the bell rang. “I’ll see you at lunch.”

He stormed off and you sighed. Poor guy. You made your way to your first class, glad that you didn’t have to worry about your love life. You simply didn’t have one. None of the guys here seemed brave enough to try anything with the chief of police’s daughter. Not that you blamed them. Dad could be pretty intimidating when he wanted to be. A trait you were proud to say you inherited.

————————————————

“Hop, your kid is here,” Flo announced as you wandered into the police station.

“Kid?” you scoffed as you walked around the reception desk. “Come on Flo, I’m practically an adult now!”

“Mhmm…and you get into more trouble than most twice your age,” she said disapprovingly.

“Whatcha doin here, Erin?” Dad asked holding a doughnut. “Hey!”

“I’m bored,” you explained through a mouthful of the pastry you had stolen from him.

“So? I’m at work. It’s not my job to entertain you,” he said gruffly. “Go hang out with that Byer’s kid you’re always skulking around with.”

“Johnathon has to work tonight,” you complained. “I was wondering if I could help you here.”

“I’ve told you a thousand times, you’re not supposed to be back here. You’re not on the force,” he complained, running a hand over his beard.

You gave your father a look. One that said ‘Really? This again?’ and he sighed.

“Fine,” he conceded. “You can….answer the phones. But for the love of god, do NOT tell people they’re fucking morons….no matter how stupid their problems are.”

You grinned at him mischievously.

“No promises,” you said with a smile.

Your father groaned in response.

“At least she’s not out spray painting graffiti onto the ally walls again,” Flo grumbled.

“It wasn’t graffiti, it was art!” you argued. “Forgive me for trying to bring some color into this shithole.”

“Language!” Dad barked….but then he winked at you when Flo’s back was turned.

He knew you had inherited your foul mouth from him so he couldn’t exactly fault you for it, but he did put on a front of strict parent in front of others. You were pretty sure that everyone knew when it came to you, he turned to mush, but you let him believe what he wanted. As far as fathers went, yours wasn’t so bad. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I warned you already, but be warned again. This is a slow burn story, but we will get there.

The next day began pretty much the same way. You woke up, contemplated skipping class, decided it wasn’t worth the grumbling lecture you’d receive from your father, and got ready for class. Once again, you beat Johnathon to school. In fact, by the time his car was parked in the lot, the bell had rung. You didn’t care. You waited for your best friend to enter the building, even as the halls had begun to empty. One look at his face and you knew you had made the right call.

“What happened?” you asked.

“Will never came home last night,” he told you, his eyes filled with worry.

“What?” you asked. 

“I came in late from work and didn’t check. Shit, this is my fault. Why didn’t I check to see if he was in bed?” your friend said frantically.

“Whoa, slow down. This isn’t your fault. I’m sure Will is fine. What are you even doing here?” you asked him, not caring that the halls were empty now.

“Mom told me to just get to school while she went down to the police station,” he said.

“Fuck that,” you said, grabbing his hand and leading him back outside. “Let’s get out of here. If I know my dad, he’s probably just now getting to work. Let’s get to the station and light a fire under his ass. Get a search party formed.”

“What about you? You shouldn’t miss class,” he argued feebly as you crossed the parking lot. 

“Fuck class,” you said steering him to your car. “There was a 50/50 chance I was gonna skip today anyways. Besides, Will is more important. He’s family.”

“Thanks, Erin,” Johnathon said, his eyes filled with worry. 

“Don’t mention it,” you said, pulling out of the parking lot and speeding to the police station across town.

Will was like your younger brother. You looked out for him just like you looked out for Johnathon. Since you had met Johnathon, you had spent many afternoons hanging out with both the Byers brothers in the woods. Johnathon would snap pictures on his camera, while you and Will would climb trees or play make believe. You would swordfight with the younger boy using fallen sticks, and dramatically pretend to die when you let him slay you like some beast in his nerdy dragons game he loved to play. You hated to think he was out there alone and scared. You wouldn’t even let yourself think anything worse. 

You sped to the station faster than was legal, and pulled in the parking lot beside Ms. Byers car. You ignored Flo’s huff of protest as you stormed through the station towards your father’s office, Johnathon hot on your heels. You had just reached his door when it opened and Ms. Byers walked out looking frantic and pissed off. 

“Jonathon? Erin? What are you both doing here?” she asked in surprise.

“Oh, for the love of….why the hell aren’t you in school?” came the grumpy sound of your father.

“We’re here to help look for Will, duh,” you huffed right back at him. “Ms. Byers, I’m here to help in whatever way. Has a search party been formed yet?”

“Jesus, Erin. I just learned the kid was missing,” your father said irritably. “Give me a minute.”

“You would have known hours ago if you had shown up at a decent time!” Ms. Byers said fuming.

“Figures,” you rolled your eyes. “Have you checked out the woods behind your house? How about around Castle Byers? Let’s go look now.”

“No, you’re gonna get both your asses to school,” your dad said pointing a finger at you and Johnathon. 

“Dad, there’s no way in hell we’re gonna be able to focus on anything with Will missing, so we may as well help!”

His expression read as angry, but it softened as he saw the worry in your face. 

“Fuck it, fine!” he breathed. “But just for today and you better not start falling behind with your grades. You can go help Joyce and Johnathon look around their house. I’m gonna go to the middle school and talk to Will’s friends. See if they know where he might have gone.”

“Thanks Dad,” you said gratefully. You gave him a quick hug, something you rarely did anymore. 

“Yeah, yeah,” he said, patting you on the back. “Just be careful out there, kid.”

——————————— 

“Will!” you called through the woods around Castle Byers. 

You were searching for foot prints, torn clothes…anything that could have told you where the boy had gone. 

“Will! Where are you?” Johnathon called out a few feet away. 

Joyce was inside the little makeshift fort, looking for clues.

“Fuck, what if he’s hurt?” Johnathon asked you.

“He’s a smart kid. He knows how to take care of himself. I bet he’s just a bit turned around in here somewhere,” you said comfortingly. 

“He knows not to go too far from here,” he argued. “Something must have happened to him. Something bad.”

“Listen to me,” you said grabbing him by the shoulders. “We’re gonna find him. I promise.”

You brought the taller boy into a desperate hug and you felt his head rest on the top of your head. 

“Yeah. We’ll find him,” Johnathon whispered. “Thanks, Erin.”

After a while of getting nowhere, you decided to retrieve Johnathon’s car from school. The ride there was tense, filled with silence and worry. Class was just getting out when you arrived. Students were spilling out of the building, smiling and carefree. Unaware of the turmoil you two were in. You gave Johnathon a tight smile and promised you would meet him back at his house to wait with him for news. 

You decided you needed a smoke after the day you were having. So you were leaning against the side of your car, cigarette between your lips when Steve Harrington approached you.

“Hey, Erin,” he called, hair looking perfect as always.

“Harrington,” you nodded, noticing his douchebag friends weren’t with him. “What can I do for you?”

“You weren’t in class,” he began awkwardly. 

“Yeah…I had more important shit to attend to,” you said, taking a drag.

“Right…well we’re paired up for that Chem project….so…yeah,” he said slowly, looking like he’d rather be anywhere else than talking to you.

“Got it. I’ll have it done by the end of the week,” you told him.

“Oh…well….I’m not as smart as you, but I can help if you want,” he offered.

“I got it, Harrington. Besides, there’s some serious shit going down, so my attendance is going to be spotty for the unforeseeable future,” you said, stomping out the butt of your cigarette. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll still give you half the credit.”

“Uh…okay then. What’s the serious shit?” he asked as you climbed into your car. 

“Hawkins is out of Farrah Fawcett Hair Spray,” you shot at him, enjoying the look of horror on his face. 

“Wha…..how….I..” he stuttered, his eyes wide in shock.

“Don’t worry,” you called to him, turning on your ignition and backing out. “Your secret is safe with me.”


	3. Chapter 3

You were out in the dark with the rest of the search party, combing the woods for Will. Your father had tried to convince you to go home, but one look from you and he sighed and agreed you could help. You had offered to stay with Johnathon and help him make Missing posters for Will, but he said that one of you should be out there and he felt he needed to take care of his mother.

You stuck near your father, searching with your flashlight for any sign the boy had run off this direction. You heard him as he spoke with your old science teacher, Mr. Clark.

“My eldest daughter back there,” he gestured to you with his flashlight. “You might have had her in your class.”

Mr. Clark looked you over with his flashlight and you waved once.

“Oh, yes,” he said with a smile. “I remember Erin. Smart as a tack, but liked to get into trouble.”

“Yeah, I’m afraid she takes after me. Except she’s smarter,” your father said with a grin before turning back around. “She never really cared about what’s beyond our world though. Nah, that was my youngest, Sara. Galaxies, the universe, whatnot…she always understood that stuff. Definitely got it from her mother.”

“Sara….what grade is she in? Maybe I’ll get her too in my class,” Mr. Clark said.

Your stomach dropped.

“She lives in the city with her mother,” your dad said quickly.

He clapped Mr. Clarke once on the back.

“Thanks for coming out, teach. Appreciate it,” he said shortly, before hurrying off.

You took his place beside your old science teacher.

“She uh….passed. A few years ago,” you said quietly.

“Sorry?” Mr. Clarke asked.

“My little sister…Sara. She got real sick and…Dad doesn’t like to talk about it,” you told him. “Neither do I, if I can help it.”

“Oh, I’m so sorry,” he said apologetically. “I had no idea.”

“Yeah…it’s alright. Just thought I should warn you not to bring it up again,” you said, swallowing the emotion that had built in your throat.

“Of course,” he said, nodding. “And…your mother?”

“Oh she does live in the city….with her new family,” you said a bit bitterly. “She and dad split shortly after Sara died. Guess she wanted a fresh start away from us.”

“I see,” Mr. Clarke said, looking troubled. “Well….this may be overstepping boundaries….but if you ever need to talk to someone I want you to know I’m always willing to listen. You were always a heck of a student….even if you did like to meddle with unstable chemicals.”

You smiled at him in the dark.

“Thanks, Mr. Clarke,” you told him. “I appreciate it.”

He smiled back at you, and you continued the search for the missing boy.

Around midnight, your dad sent you home. You protested for a while, but eventually he won. It happened sometimes. You went home with a heavy heart and fell into an uneasy sleep. The next morning, you were surprised to see your father had never come home. No doubt he had continued the search through the night.

You glanced at the clock to see you still had time to get to school, but you had no intention of going today. You were going to continue looking for Will. That was…until the phone rang.

“Get your butt to school,” your father said by way of greeting.

“Dad, come on,” you protested.

“Don’t argue with me today,” he said with a frustrated sigh. “Just…please get to school today, kid. I don’t need more shit on my plate.”

“Fine, I promise I’ll go to school,” you huffed. “Did you find anything?”

“Not a damn thing,” he said, sounding dejected. “Looked all night. Went all the way to Cartersville.”

“Shit,” you breathed.

“Yeah…I’m over at the Byers now. You get yourself to class, and I’ll see you tonight.”

“Ok….see you later, Dad,” you told him.

You hung the phone up and sighed. You wanted to go see how Johnathon was holding up, but you had made your father a promise and you didn’t go back on your promises. So, like an obedient daughter, you went to your room to get ready for class.

You got to school with plenty of time to spare. You were surprised to see Johnathon’s car in the lot. You thought for sure he would skip today. You found him near the entrance holding a stack of Missing posters.

“Hey,” you said, taking a poster and giving it a once over.

“Hey,” he returned somberly. 

“I thought for sure you’d bail today. Not that I blame you,” you said helping him pin a poster to the announcement board. 

“Yeah….I’m not staying. I just wanted to hang a couple of these up,” he said. 

You felt eyes on the pair of you, and you looked up to see Steve Harrington, Nancy Wheeler and their friends staring at Johnathon. Nancy and her friend looked on with pity, while Carol, Tommy, and Steve wore expressions of faint amusement. Your eyes narrowed in response.

“Don’t…don’t start anything,” Johnathon mumbled. 

“I won’t…as long as they don’t try to start shit,” you told him. 

Nancy Wheeler walked up and you tried to hide your grin as Johnathon shuffled his feet nervously.

“Hey Johnathon…Erin….” She began awkwardly.

You gave her a brief wave. 

“I just wanted to say, you know…um…I’m sorry about everything,” she said looking sincere. 

At least she looked sincere. Behind her, her buddies were looking bored and uncomfortable. It seemed only she had the good grace to offer Johnathon words of encouragement. 

“Everyone’s thinking about you,” she offered.

You scoffed, and rolled your eyes. Johnathon nudged you with his elbow. 

“It sucks,” Nancy said simply. 

“Yeah,” Johnathon said, finally managing to speak. 

“I’m sure he’s fine,” Nancy offered. “He’s a smart kid.”

The bell rang loudly, breaking the awkward tension that had built. 

“I have to go….chemistry test,” Nancy said with a smile. 

“Yeah,” Jonathon said, flashing her an awkward grin. 

“Good luck!” she said before turning around.

“Thanks,” Johnathon mumbled.

“Well that wasn’t awkward at all,” you said in a low voice. 

“Shut up,” he responded.

“At least she was nice enough to say something,” you said thoughtfully. 

“She’s always been nice,” he said with a sigh. “Look, I’m not staying. I’m going to see my Dad.”

“Oh…okay,” you said in surprise. “Need some company?”

“Nah…I think this is something I should do on my own,” he told you.

You nodded. 

“I get it. Ok, well…I’ll stop by later then, after school,” you told him.

“Yeah….I’ll see you later Erin,” he said before heading back through the double doors. 

Class was predictably boring, but you did manage to get most of the Chemistry project done for you and Steve. It was fairly simple. You just had to create a formula sheet on different chemical compounds. You sat alone at lunch, people watching since your partner in crime was absent. You watched as Harrington tried to impress Nancy by flicking his peas at unsuspecting people. She didn’t look amused. Honestly, what did she see in him? Sure he was good looking, and his hair was flawless…but he acted like a total moron. 

As if she could sense you watching her, she turned and caught your eye. She gave you a friendly smile and noticed you were sitting alone. She muttered something to Steve and the rest of them and got up, headed towards you. Nancy took the empty chair across from you, and you noticed Steve was watching you like a hawk, clearly upset his girlfriend had chosen to forgo his company for you. 

“What’s up, Wheeler?” you said by way of greeting.

“Hey…I just saw you sitting alone,” she said slowly. “Since Jonathon’s…you know, busy today…I thought you could use some company.”

“That’s very nice of you,” you said. “But I think your boyfriend is a little jealous.”

You nodded across the cafeteria towards Steve. She turned and saw him sitting with a frown on his face, watching the two of you.

“Oh, he’s not my boyfriend,” she said, a slight blush on her face. “And he can get over it.”

“You might want to tell him that,” you said with a laugh. “It’s pretty clear that Harrington is carrying a huge torch for you.”

“What about you? How long have you been dating Johnathon?” she asked, clearly wanting to steer the conversation away from herself.

“We’re not dating,” you told her. “Never have been. It’s just a stupid rumor. Johnathon is like family to me.”

“Oh…I had no idea. You’re always together so I just thought…” her voice trailed away.

“It’s alright,” you shrugged. 

An awkward silence filled the air. You weren’t sure how to talk to this bright and bubbly girl. Most people avoided you if they could, yet hear she was talking to you like you were friends.

“Do you know if your Dad has found out anything?” she asked, breaking the tension. “About Will, I mean.”

“Sadly, no,” you sighed. “There was a search party out looking last night. They didn’t find anything in the woods.”

“That’s too bad,” she said, frowning. “I really hope they find him soon.”

The bell rang, signaling the end of lunch. You both rose from your seat as Steve came walking up.

“Well….I’ll see you later, Erin,” she said with a smile. “It was nice talking to you.”

“Yeah…you too, Nancy,” you said, ignoring the glare Steve was shooting at you. 

He put an arm around his girlfriend and led her away. You rolled your eyes in amusement, but thought…..Nancy Wheeler wasn’t that bad. There were worse girls for your best friend to fall for. If only she’d lose the walking Hairpiece attached to her arm. 


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is definitely gonna be a bit of a from hate to love kind of story as we can all agree Steve was a dick at the beginning. 
> 
> Let me know what you think!

You couldn’t believe it when your father told you. Benny was gone. Shot himself in the head. You had eaten at his diner hundreds of times. He had been good friends with your dad and had treated you like family. You remembered how he would always sneak you ice cream with a wink and a smile, even when your dad had told you no. The big guy wouldn’t hurt a fly, let alone do something like that. You just couldn’t believe it. From the look in your dad’s eyes, he couldn’t either.

Still, he sent you home, not wanting you near the bloody scene. He had some stuff he had to take care of and some people to interview. For once, you didn’t push him. You gave your dad a hug, and got back in your car and left the diner parking lot. You didn’t go straight home though. You stopped by the Byers. Joyce told you Johnathon still wasn’t home and you told her where her eldest son had gone off too. She had guessed as much, but she thanked you for confirming it for her. You gave the older woman a hug and a few words of encouragement, but you doubted it helped. She was clearly going out of her mind with grief. 

The rest of the evening was spent catching up on homework, finishing up the chemistry project, and laying in bed listening to Bowie. You didn’t mind the loneliness most nights, but tonight you really wished you had someone to hold you as you drifted into another uneasy sleep. 

————————-

“You should really quit smoking those. It’s gross,” Johnathon said by way of his morning greeting to you.

“Yeah, you’re probably right,” you said, taking another drag. “One of these days I’ll actually listen to you.”

“Yeah right,” he said shaking his head. “When hell freezes over maybe.”

“How did it go yesterday?” you asked him, grabbing your bag and heading into the school. “With your old man.”

“He’s still an asshole,” he said darkly. “But he didn’t have any clue Will was gone.”

“Figures,” you muttered. “I got some bad news yesterday too.”

You told him about Benny’s apparent suicide.

“Shit…I’m sorry Erin. That’s rough,” he said, placing a comforting arm around your shoulders.

“Yeah…it sucks…” your voice trailed off. “I guess when it rains it pours.”

“Yeah, seems that way,” he said, his eyes glued to Nancy and Steve whose lips were fused together.

“Try to ignore them,” you said. “Besides we got more important shit on our plate to deal with right now. I’m thinking we go comb the woods outside where Will’s bike was found again. There’s gotta be something we’re missing.”

He agreed and you discussed possible locations you could look around as you made your way to your first class.

You didn’t see him at lunch. He had told you he had some pictures he wanted to develop instead of eating. You figured if it brought him any kind of peace or comfort, then it was fine with you so you sat alone again. School dragged on, but when the final bell rang you dashed out the door. You leaned against your car waiting for Johnathon, but it seemed Steve Harrington got to him first. You watched as your best friend stopped to talk to him and his friends, but you couldn’t hear what they were saying. Tommy stole Johnathon’s bag and you shot up immediately. 

You ran over to them as Steve started digging in his bag, pulling out pictures.

“What the fuck, Harrington?” you demanded. 

“Oh, good,” he said happily, looking at Johnathon. “I bet your girlfriend would love to see what you were up to last night.”

“Not his girlfriend, and what the fuck are you talking about?” you asked. 

“I’m talking about these,” he said, showing you the photos in his hands.   
  


You glanced at them, seeing pictures of Steve, Nancy, Carol, and Tommy standing around a pool and drinking. You groaned inwardly. _Nice, Byers…Real smooth._

“Yeah, this isn’t creepy at all,” Carol said haughtily.

“I was looking for my brother,” Johnathon said defensively.

“No,” Steve said. “No this is called stalking.”

“Don’t give yourself so much credit,” you said. “Not everyone wants to follow you around.”

“Maybe not, but I think Johnathon had a different view in mind,” he said, holding up a picture of who you guessed to be Nancy at the window in the process of removing her shirt. 

“What’s going on?” 

“Ah, here’s the starring lady!” Tommy laughed as Nancy walked up.

“This creep was spying on us last night,” Carol said. “He was probably gonna save this one for later.”

She handed Nancy the photo. Nancy looked at the photo, her face flooding with color. She looked at Johnathon with horror and disbelief in her eyes. Johnathon returned her gaze, ashamed. Hell you were a little ashamed of him too. You couldn’t wait to grill him about what the fuck he was doing out there. 

“See? You can tell that he knows it was wrong, but…Man, that’s the thing about perverts,” Steve said, lifting part of Johnathon’s shirt. “It’s hardwired into them. You know, they just can’t help themselves.”

“Watch it, Harrington,” you said in warning, watching him rip up the photos.

“You watch it,” Steve said. “What would your father think about these pictures, huh? You’re really going to defend this?”

“I’ll admit it, he shouldn’t have taken those pictures and we are going to have a serious discussion about social boundaries,” you said throwing a dark look at your best friend. “But what’s done is done. You’ve destroyed the pictures. You’ve had your fun. It’s over and done.”

“No…No I don’t think he really understands the gravity of his crimes,” Steve said with an air of superiority. “I think we’re gonna have to take away his toy.”

Steve grabbed Johnathon’s expensive camera out of his bag and Johnathon immediately began to step forward towards him. Tommy blocked his path, looking menacing. You knew his camera was his life. His one great passion. His one outlet in this world that brought him happiness. 

“Please, no, please not the camera,” Johnathon begged.

“Steve…” Nancy said, looking torn. 

“It’s okay,” Steve said with a grin. “Here you go man.”

For a moment, you thought maybe Steve Harrington had a shred of decency in him as he moved to hand the camera towards it’s owner…but then that moment was erased as he let it fall, smashing the lens against the pavement. 

You watched your best friend’s face fall in complete despair, the air filled with Tommy and Carol’s laughter. 

“Come on, let’s go,” Steve started. “The game’s about to start.”

He started towards the football field, but you stopped him. Your blood boiled as you caught up to him. 

“Hey Harrington,” you said.

He turned and his face was met with your fist as you decked him hard across his jaw. You barely noticed the pain in your hand as you watched the boy fall flat on his ass.

“You’re a complete asshole,” you spat. “Enjoy your King Shit reign right now, because after High School, you’ll never amount to anything more than a fucking grocery store manager in this rinky dink town.”

You stomped away, ignoring Tommy’s sniggers at seeing his buddy laid out on the ground by a girl. You stomped back over to your friend, passing Nancy who looked regretful and disappointed. 

“You shouldn’t have done that,” Johnathon said, his voice breaking as he gathered up his camera and the shards of glass.

“Shut it,” you warned him, bending down to help gather the remains of his camera. “What the fuck were you thinking, Byers?”

“I know…It was stupid,” he said.

“Really fucking stupid,” you agreed.

“I really was looking for Will…but then I saw them all hanging out and….I don’t know, Erin,” he explained tiredly. “Sometimes I just shoot before thinking.”

“Yeah, and look where it’s got you,” you said, shoving bits of paper into his bag. 

His silence met you like a sack of rocks in your stomach.

“I’m sorry,” you breathed. “Listen, we’ll fix your camera somehow, okay? We’ll figure it out.”

“I don’t think this is fixable,” he whispered.

“Sure it is Johnny,” you said using a nickname you reserved for very rare occasions.

You reached out to pat the taller boy’s shoulder, but hissed in pain as your hand protested. 

“Fuck Harrington’s face is harder than I thought,” you gasped.

“Shit, let me see,” he reached out and gingerly took your hand. “Let’s get some ice on this. It’s gonna bruise pretty bad.”

“Not as much as that douchebag’s ego,” you said with a smirk. “He got decked the fuck out by a girl.”

Johnathon grinned at you and the both of you broke out into fits of laughter. You laughed at the awful situation you were both in, at what your father was sure to say once he found out, but mostly at the thought of King Steve sporting one hell of a bruise on his perfect face for the next week or two.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lots of grief, some tears, some best friend and daddy Hopper fluff.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think I’m gonna start doing one chapter per episode. Hope that’s ok. 
> 
> And don’t worry! Steve is coming up soon!

The shit had literally hit the fan. You were standing there in the Byer’s living room, surrounded by Christmas lights that Joyce had hung all over the ceiling and the wall. You had been trying to help Johnathon piece his camera back together when Hawkins Police showed up. Your father had just informed you all they had found a body in the quarry. Shock and grief had torn through you. Johnathon had gone pale, tears forming at the corners of his eyes. But Joyce….well she had a reaction you hadn’t expected.

She adamantly denied that was her boy they found. She frantically explained that she had communicated with Will through the lights and there was a monster in the wall…or something like that. She sounded like she had truly lost her mind to you. 

“Mom, come on you gotta stop this,” Johnathon said, his voice breaking. 

“It’s after him!” she cried desperately. “He’s in danger! We have to find him! We—”

“What exactly was this thing?” your father interrupted her. “It was some kind of animal, you said?”

You didn’t really know why he was going along with it, clearly she was talking nonsense. 

“Uh, no it was…It was almost human,” she tried to explain. “But it wasn’t. It had these long arms and…it didn’t have a face.”

“It didn’t have a face?” your father asked.

Johnathon began to pace around frantically, clearly upset that his mother had gone off the deep end. You put a comforting arm around his shoulder and he leaned into you as your father tried to calm Joyce down.

“She’s losing it,” your best friend said in a low voice. “I’ve lost my little brother, and now I’m losing my mother.”

“She’s just upset,” you said, pulling him in for a hug, tears springing into your own eyes. “She’ll….get better. She’s just in shock right now…shit we all are.”

“What am I supposed to do, Erin?” your best friend said through his own tears. 

“Take it one step at a time,” you said looking at him. “That’s what helped me after Sarah…Just….tonight try to get some sleep, okay?”

“Will you stay?” he asked. “Please…I..I can’t be alone.”

“Of course I’ll stay,” you told him. “Just let me tell my dad real quick.”

He nodded and headed towards his bedroom. You walked towards the front door where your father had just walked out. Luckily, he was still on the front porch. 

“Hey…so I’m gonna stay here tonight,” you said. “Johnathon needs me.”

“Yeah…alright. Just no funny business okay?” he said.

“Dad, you know it’s not like that between us,” you said with a sigh. “Besides, I think that’s the last thing on his mind.”

“Yeah…I’m sorry. It’s been a really shitty night,” he said tiredly. 

“You gonna be okay?” you asked him, knowing he had been on the scene when they pulled Will’s body out of the water.

“Don’t worry about me, kid,” he said pulling you in for a hug. “You just help them in whatever way you can.”

“Yeah, I will,” you said.

He placed a kiss on your head, and turned to leave. You took a deep breath, trying to stay strong and steady your emotions, but the pain cut through you and it cut deep. It was like losing your little sister all over again. But now wasn’t the time to be emotional. Now, your best friend needed you. So you took another deep breath, and went inside.

Joyce must have went into her own bedroom, as the living room was empty as you crossed it. You opened Johnathon’s door and found him laying in his bed, staring at the ceiling. 

“Hey,” you said, closing the door behind you. “You want me to take the floor?”

“No,” he whispered.

He lifted the covers, signaling you to climb in beside him. You nodded, and kicked off your shoes before crawling into his bed. For a moment you both stared at each other, lost in your own grief. Then, Johnathon clutched you closer and began to weep. You held him throughout the night, your own tears falling silently until you both passed out from exhaustion.

\-------------------------------------------

The next morning, you woke up to find Johnathon was already awake and dressed. 

“What time is it?” you asked groggily. 

“Nearly 8,” he said. “I gotta go wake my mom up…It’s almost time to go to the morgue.”

“Oh,” you said swallowing the lump in your throat. “Do you want me to go with you? Not in the exam room…but I can stay in the waiting room if you want.”

“Yeah…thanks,” he said nodding. 

“No problem. Could I borrow a shirt?” you asked, seeing as yours was feeling a little stale. 

“It will swallow you, but sure,” he said tossing you a clean T-shirt that featured The Clash. 

He left the room so you could change. You quickly got dressed and tried to tame your hair with his comb. Once you were presentable you exited the bedroom, finding Johnathon speaking in hushed tones with his mother in the living room. It was decided you would drive separately and meet them at the morgue. You were secretly glad to have a moment to yourself as you drove into town. It allowed you to get a grip on your emotions. You knew it would be difficult for the Byers to see Will like that, but you hoped it gave Joyce some kind of closure she desperately needed. 

You weren’t surprised when you saw your father’s car in the parking lot as you pulled in. No doubt he was here both on police business and as moral support. You climbed out of your car just as the Byer’s pulled up. Together, you all went inside. Before they went back to identify the body, you pulled both Joyce and Johnathon into a hug and told them you would be out here in the waiting room if they needed you. Johnathon gave you thankful smile before he went back. 

You took a seat beside your father in the waiting room. 

“You’re a good friend,” he said. “I’m proud of you for keeping it together for them.”

“Yeah, well…I know what they’re going through,” you said with a sigh. “Having someone to lean on really helps.”

“I’m sorry…that you didn’t have anyone to lean on,” he said slowly. “I wasn’t there for you. I was caught up in my own head.”

“It’s ok, Dad,” you said. 

“No, it really isn’t,” he said heavily. “Your mother and I were so preoccupied with our own bullshit, we didn’t really stop to see how you were. I’m really sorry about that, Erin. And I’m sorry we haven’t exactly been close lately. As soon as this shit clears…I wanna spend more time with you kid. Before you get too grown and decide to leave Hawkins.”

You stared at your father, emotion swelling inside you. He gave you a little smile and you smiled back. 

“I’d like that, Dad,” you told him, leaning your head against his shoulder. 

It had been a long time since you had really been able to be close to your Dad. It was nice, having this contact with him. You sat in comfortable silence for a long while.

“What’s taking so long?” your father asked the receptionist.

“Well, everything’s been a bit chaotic around here without Gary,” she explained. 

“Without Gary?” he asked, confused. “Where’s Gary?”

“I thought you knew,” the receptionist said. “Those men from State, they…they sent Gary home last night.”

“So who did the autopsy?” your dad asked looking perturbed. 

“Someone from State,” she replied with a shrug. 

Your father frowned, looking disturbed. 

“Why would State do the exam?” you asked. “It’s a county issue, isn’t it?”

“Yeah…it is,” he said in a low voice. 

Jonathan interrupted your thoughts as he burst into the room looking sick. He took a seat beside you and you patted him gently on the back. He took several deep breathes and seem to calm down some. 

“How’s your mom doing?” dad asked. 

“I don’t know,” he said honestly. 

“How long’s this stuff been going on? With the lights and uh…Will and the thing in the wall?”

“Since the first phone call, I guess,” Johnathon mumbled. “You know, she’s had anxiety problems in the past. But this…I don’t know. I’m worried it could be…Ugh…I don’t know.”

“Hey, she’ll pull through,” you said, rubbing his back. “She’ll be okay.”

He nodded, as if he were trying to convince himself. 

“Yeah…we’ll be okay,” he said giving you a weak smile. “My mom…she’s tough.”

“Yeah she is,” your father agreed. “She is.”

Joyce burst into the room at that precise moment with the coroner following her and shouting at her to sign some papers. 

“I don’t know what you think that thing is in there, but that is not my son!” she shouted.

“Joyce, wait a second,” your father said.

“NO!” she shouted before storming out of the doors. 

You all stared at the doors as they swung shut. For a moment, it was silent. Then Johnathon sighed. 

“I’ll….I’ll go after her,” he said sadly before he too stormed out. 

You and your father looked at each other and sighed. You felt for them both. You wished you could help them somehow, but there was nothing you could do to ease their pain except to be there for them whenever you could, whenever they wanted you to be. You stuck around for a few minutes while your father finished up some paperwork and spoke with the coroner a bit. When he was finished, he said he had some more work to take care of at the station so you bid him farewell. You walked outside towards your car, shivering as the bitter October air hit your face. Just as you were about to get into your car and head home, Johnathon’s car pulled up rather aggressively in the spot next to yours. One look at his face and you knew things did not go well with his mom. 

“Get in,” he said roughly. 

You raised a brow at him, but complied. Once you were seated in the front seat beside him, you had expected him to drive off but he stayed parked. 

“I take it things didn’t go well?” you asked him. 

“Of course not,” he said roughly. “She’s selfish. She’s delusional. She’s fucking crazy. And so now it falls on me to pick up the pieces and plan my little brother’s funeral. I don’t get the chance to grieve because one of us has to be the fucking adult and its sure as hell not going to be her!”

You listened as his voice rose in volume. You had never seen your best friend this pissed. It shocked you. 

“I’m sorry, Johnathon,” you said softly. “I know how you feel.”

“No you fucking don’t!” he shouted. “No one understands!”

“I’m the only one who understands how you feel!” you shot back a little heatedly. “When Sarah….after Sarah, I had no one. I mean NO ONE. Dad and Mom were too wrapped up in their own pain and bullshit to even stop to think of me. I had to pick up a lot of the slack, especially after my mom took off. I had to pay mine and Dad’s bills, I had to take care of the move, I had to put my father to bed more times than I care to count. I had to be the adult. So yeah, Johnathon. I fucking get it. I know how you feel. But at least you have someone here for you. Someone who is willing to help in any way she fucking can. Even if you just want to have someone to vent to and scream at. That’s fine. But don’t you fucking sit there and say I don’t know how you feel.”

Silence filled the car. For a moment, you thought he was going to tell you to get the fuck out of his car. But then, he sighed heavily and looked at you, a few tears falling from his eyes. 

“You’re right,” he said softly. “You’re right. I’m sorry. I just feel like I’m losing it right now. But you’ve always been there for me and you don’t deserve being yelled at.”

“It’s alright,” you told him. “I just want to help in whatever way I can. Whatever you need.”

“I guess….I could use some help planning my little brother’s funeral,” he said sadly.

You nodded.

—————— 

After a somber lunch, the two of you had made your way to the funeral home. After explaining the situation to the undertaker, he began explaining the funeral process to the both of you. You made decisions about which church you would have the ceremony at, the flowers to put on his casket, what the tombstone should say….the list went on and on. You helped where you could, whenever Johnathon shot you a “Help, I don’t know what I’m doing” sort of look.

Finally, the undertaker was showing you the selection of caskets. Johnathon paled a bit at the idea of his brother lying in one of these wooden boxes. You put a comforting hand around his shoulder as you listened to the undertaker speak. 

Suddenly, a figure emerged at the doorway. You looked up to see Nancy Wheeler of all people looking shy and embarrassed. 

“Go ahead,” you urged him “I’ve got this.”

He nodded and left the room to speak to Nancy. 

You motioned for the undertaker to carry on with his explanation. He was trying to upsell you on more expensive casket. You rolled your eyes a bit. Why would a dead person need a bronze casket? It’s not like it would save their body from decomposing. No, once they were dead, there was nothing that could save them.

You ended up choosing a cheaper mahogany casket, knowing that Johnathon wouldn’t care. You were going over details with the undertaker when Johnathon reappeared. 

“Erin, I gotta go. Nancy needs a ride,” he said looking sheepish. “Can you…handle it here?”

“Of course,” you said, surprised. “Yeah, go ahead. I’ll get this taken care of.”

“Thanks,” he said.

“No worries,” you waved him off. “I’ll see you later.”

He shot you a small smile and left. You smiled, turning back to the funeral arrangements. You hoped Nancy could help him in ways you couldn’t. 


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You go to a funeral, you take a walk in the woods, you disclose some information about Steve that no one knew.

You always hated wearing dresses. They made you feel…exposed. Like one strong breeze could expose your ass to half the town. But you sighed and put on the long black garment anyways. Today wasn’t going to be comfortable no matter what you wore. You let your hair fall loose down your back. Usually you wore it pulled back. You stood in front of the mirror in your bedroom and inspected your reflection. You looked feminine…dainty even. You sighed again, deciding you looked presentable enough.

You crossed the room and opened your bedroom door. Your father was spread out on the couch snoring. You shook him, but he didn’t stir. There were empty beer cans spread out across the coffee table. You rolled your eyes.

“Great,” you sighed. “Of all days for you to get wasted….”

You gave up trying to rouse your father and grabbed your keys and left. You got to the church early. You and Johnathon had decided against a viewing. No one needed to see Will like that. Instead, you had decided on a ceremony in the cemetery. Short and simple. You got out of your car and looked around the parking lot. A few people had begun to arrive, and you spotted the Byer’s car pulling in. You were a little surprised to see Johnathon’s father pull into the spot beside them. You made your way over to them.

“Hey,” you said softly. “You look nice.”

“So do you,” Johnathon said. “I didn’t know you even owned a dress.”

“I reserve it only for the shittiest of occasions,” you returned. “So…you’re old man showed up?”

“Yeah…surprised me too,” he whispered as his father walked up to you. 

“Good morning,” he said, eyeing you up and down. “Johnathon didn’t tell me he had a girlfriend. She’s a pretty thing, Johnathan.”

“Barf,” you retorted. 

“She’s not my girlfriend,” he shot back at his father.

“Erin and Johnathon have been best friends for years,” Joyce said. 

You put an arm around the older woman. 

“How you holding up, Joyce?” you asked. 

“Terribly,” she admitted. “Listen, I want to thank you for helping Johnathon handle all of this. It means a lot that you’ve been there for him.”

“No problem,” you said. “We’re basically family. That’s what family does. They look out for each other. Now…let’s get this over with, shall we?”

She nodded solemnly and you led her through the cemetery to where the youngest Byers would be laid to rest. 

The service was short and simple. The preacher went on about how Will was in God’s hands now…or something like that. Honestly, you didn’t care much for church. When it was over, people began to mingle, giving Joyce and Lonnie their condolences. Johnathon pulled you and Nancy aside from the crowd.

“We need to talk,” he said.

He led you both away from the crowd, settling down on the grass outside the fence of the cemetery. Nancy began speaking, telling you about how she had went to the woods outside Steve’s house to look for Barb. You didn’t even know the girl had been missing. She told you how she saw something there…some kind of man that didn’t have a face.

You shot a look at Johnathon and he nodded. He went on to explain how he had caught a photo of this creature the night he was looking around Steve’s house for Will. Apparently, they thought that whatever this thing was…it was taking people. They thought Will and Barb might still be alive somewhere.

“Guys…you know this sounds crazy right?” you said slowly, looking at the pair.

“I know, Erin. But I know what I saw. And here, look,” Nancy said, pulling a photo out of her bag. 

You looked at the blurry picture of Barb sitting on a diving board. It was hard to make out, but it did look like something standing behind her. 

“I mean…yeah there’s something there,” you admitted. “But…come on. We just buried Will’s body.”

“It could have been faked,” Johnathon said quickly. “Maybe the government is trying to cover something up.”

You bit your lip, thinking back to what you overheard yesterday at the coroner’s office. 

_ “Who did the autopsy?” _

_ “Someone from State.” _

“I need you to trust me on this, Erin,” Johnathon said pleadingly. 

You stared into his dark eyes, seeing the desperation. You nodded and he shot you a grateful smile.

“Ok…so what’s the plan?” you asked.

Johnathon pulled out a map of Hawkins and you and Nancy leaned forwards to look. 

“This is where we know for sure it’s been right?” he said, pointing at the woods behind the Harringtons. “And that’s the woods where they found Will’s bike…and that’s my house.”

“It’s all so close,” Nancy commented. 

“Exactly,” Johnathon said.

“Looks like it’s all within a mile radius,” you said glancing at the map. “Whatever it is, it’s not traveling far.”

“Not far at all. It wouldn’t be hard to search the area,” Johnathon said. 

“You want to go out there,” Nancy replied looking a little scared. 

“We might not find anything,” he said quickly.

“I found something,” she retorted. 

“Guys, you’re talking about going to look for something potentially dangerous that likes to kidnap children,” you said warningly. “What happens if we find this thing?”

Johnathon sighed heavily.

“We kill it,” he said firmly. 

“And just how do you think we can do that? We don’t even know what it is!” you said exasperatedly. 

“Anything will die if you shoot it enough,” he said.

“Do you have a gun?” Nancy asked. 

“Follow me,” he said, getting up. 

You and the other girl looked at each other before following his tall form. He led you over to the parking lot which was still mostly deserted. Everyone was still in the cemetery. He opened his father’s car door and began rummaging around in the glove compartment. 

“What are you doing?” Nancy asked as you both tried to look inconspicuous. 

“Just give me a second,” he responded. 

You watched as he pulled a pistol out from the compartment, along with a box of ammo. 

“Your dad definitely wins parent of the year,” you said rolling your eyes. “Jesus, who carries a box of ammo and a gun in their car?”

“Your dad,” Nancy said with a grin. 

“Well he’s a cop,” you waved her off. “That’s different. You sure you should be stealing this from your old man?”

“What? You want to find this thing and take another photo? Yell at it?” he said sarcastically. 

“This is a terrible idea,” Nancy said. 

“Yeah well, it’s the best we’ve got,” he said surely, tucking the gun into his jacket pocket. 

“He’s right,” you said letting out a sigh. “No one would believe us if we tried to go to the cops.”

“Your mom would,” Nancy said, looking at him. 

“She’s been through enough,” Johnathon said firmly. 

“She deserves to know,” she argued. 

“Yeah, and I’ll tell her when this thing is dead,” he said. 

“Uh, guys,” you interrupted them. “Before we go monster hunting, I need to get changed and get something from my house.”

“Yeah, me too,” Nancy said. 

Johnathon nodded and you all made plans to meet up later. You drove home in silence, wondering how much of this could be true and just what you were going to face in those woods. 

“What. The. Fuck.” You said with wide eyes as you looked around your house.

It looked like a bomb had gone off. Cushions were torn, thick wads of cotton strewed about. Light fixtures were taken apart, tables were flipped, the kitchen cabinets were all open, dishes scattered about. It looked like you had been robbed, but nothing was missing. And of course your father was gone. 

You stepped through the mess, shaking your head in disbelief. Your dad must have had some kind of break down. 

“Jesus Christ,” you cursed under your breath.

You made your way to your room to find your room had also been turned upside down. Your clothes had been scattered about, your drawers were open, your closet door slightly off its hinges. You sighed, and began searching for some clothes suitable for traipsing through the woods. You would just have to deal with this shit later. 

You settled on jeans, a thick maroon sweater, a black jacket, and your favorite pair of Doc Martins. You always felt like a badass in your thick black ass kicking boots. You just needed one more thing. You made your way to your father’s room, unsurprised to find it destroyed as well. You kicked your way through the mess until you got to the bedside table. Reaching under it, you felt carefully for the spare gun your father kept taped to inside.

You knew he would kill you if he found out you took it…but you felt a whole hell of a lot better facing some kind of kidnapping monster while you were armed. And besides, you knew how to shoot. Your dad had taught you well. You snagged a few extra rounds of ammo, and you headed out the door. 

You found Johnathon at the spot in the woods you had agreed upon. It was close to Castle Byers, but far enough away from anything else. No one would find you out there. You saw him setting up tin cans for target practice.

“Before you start shooting up the place, I’m gonna give you a run down on proper gun safety,” you said, taking the pistol from him. 

“You sound like your dad,” he replied grinning.

“Shut it Byers,” you shot back. “Never insult a lady with a gun.”

You went over where the safety was on this pistol. You told him to never point the gun at anything you weren’t willing to shoot. You told him to keep his finger off the trigger unless he was ready to fire. All basic things you had learned when you were kid. 

Finally, you let him aim at the tin cans he had set up. He missed shot after shot and you grinned at him. 

“You’re supposed to hit the cans, right?” Nancy called as she appeared. 

“No, actually, you see the spaces in between the cans? I’m aiming for those,” he replied sarcastically. 

“Ah,” she said with a smile. 

“Have you ever shot a gun before?” he asked.

“Have you met my parents?” she laughed. 

“Well then, welcome to Erin’s school of gun safety!” you said, clapping her on the shoulder. 

You gave her the same overview you had given Johnathon before you let her hold the gun. She eyed it warily and Johnathon chuckled. 

“I haven’t shot a gun since I was 10,” he said. “My dad took me hunting on my birthday. He made me kill a rabbit.”

“A rabbit?” Nancy said looking up at him. 

“Yeah,” he replied. “I guess he thought it would make me into more of a man or something. I cried for a week.”

“Jesus,” Nancy breathed. 

“Father of the year, awarded twice,” you huffed. 

“I guess he and my mother loved each other at some point…but I wasn’t around for that part,” he said grimly. 

“Be grateful for that,” you said. “It sucks watching your parents falling out of love. Being able to remember how it used to be….and then seeing them start to hate each others guts….it really sucks. Makes you question if love is even real.”

They both gave you sympathetic looks. You shrugged it off. 

“Ah, well. At least one of us has normal loving parents,” you said nudging Nancy.

“Actually…I don’t think my parents ever loved each other,” Nancy said thoughtfully. 

“They must’ve married for some reason,” Johnathon said. 

“Yeah…my mom was young,” she explained. “My dad was older, but he had a cushy job, money, came from a good family. So they bought a nice house at the end of a cul-de-sac and started their nuclear family.”

“Screw that,” Johnathon said.

“Yeah,” Nancy agreed. “Screw that.”

Silence fell between the three of you, but it wasn’t uncomfortable. You just looked at each other, reveling in the newly formed friendship with Nancy. You all had parents with issues. Somehow, it bonded the three of you. 

“Well… enough sob stories,” you said. “Let’s see what you got Wheeler.”

She grinned at you and stepped forwards, aiming the pistol in her hands. She took a deep breath and shot. 

“Nice job!” you cheered as one of the cans flew off the stump.

She shot a couple more times, and managed to hit another can. You and Johnathon cheered her on. 

“You want to try?” she asked, holding the pistol out for you. 

“I’ve got my own gun,” you said, pulling out your father’s revolver. “Well, it’s really my dad’s. He’d kill me if he found out I took it.”

You stepped forwards, aimed, and fired all within seconds. You smiled cockily at the other two as the can fell backwards. 

“Luckily, I’ve been shooting for years,” you said, laughing at the awe on their faces. 

———————————————-

You were walking through the woods, looking for any sign a monster had been around but so far, all you found was a lot of leaves and dead trees. Nancy and Johnathon had fallen behind you, the pair of them talking together. You grinned to yourself, knowing that the two of them had grown closer. There was chemistry between them. A certain spark they shared that had the potential to grow into something more. 

At least, that’s what you thought until you heard the two of them arguing. You rolled your eyes at them. They were both too stubborn for their own good. You stopped, listening to Johnathon as he tore into the girl.

“I was thinking, ‘Nancy Wheeler. She’s not just a suburban girl who thinks she’s rebelling by doing exactly what every other girl does…until that phase passes and they marry some boring one-time jock who now works sales, and they live out a perfectly boring little life at the end of a cul-de-sac. Exactly like their parents who they thought were so depressing, but now, hey, they get it.’”

He stormed ahead of the girl, leaving her standing looking a little shell shocked. 

“You went a little rough on her, dontcha think, Byers?” you said in a low voice as he stormed up to you. 

“Shut it, Hopper,” he growled at you.

You through your hands up placatingly and let him storm ahead of you. You waited for Nancy to catch up with you. She stared at the ground, not looking at you. 

“Sorry about him,” you said quietly. “I think I’ve been a bad influence on him. I’m supposed to be the only one who says what they think.”

She said nothing and you sighed. 

“For what it’s worth….I know Steve isn’t a bad guy,” you said. 

She looked up at you and you gave her a small grin. 

“Before High School, before he became King Steve, we used to be friends,” you told her. “Good friends. When we were little, we used to do everything together. We even had a tree house we shared out behind his house.”

“I had no idea,” she said in shock. “What happened between you?”

You shrugged. 

“My sister got sick…I started spending more time at the hospital than with Steve. He was understanding…but then after she died…I dunno. I sort of shut everyone out. I stopped hanging around him at school and I shut myself in my room at home. I guess I figured, if I didn’t have anyone I cared about, then I couldn’t lose anyone else I loved. And then when we got to High School, he became obsessed with gaining popularity…and well…the rest is history.”

“I’m sorry…about your little sister,” Nancy said pityingly. “And for what happened with Steve.”

“Don’t worry about it,” you waved her off. “I just wanted you to know that I get why you like him. Under all that ‘King Steve’ shit….he’s a total sap. Just don’t tell Johnathon I said that.”

“He really doesn’t like him,” she agreed. 

“Probably because he sees him as competition,” you said grinning at the taller girl. 

She gave you a confused sort of look and you laughed. 

“Nevermind, come on. Let’s go catch up with Lord Grumpy,” you said, looping your arm through hers. 

It grew exponentially colder when the sun went down. You shivered and zipped up your coat. You were just about to suggest that you call it quits for the night, when a noise reached your ears. You stopped dead, and so did Nancy. You looked at each other with wide eyes, listening for the noise again. 

“What are you guys tired?” Johnathon asked.

You shushed him and you craned your head, listening intently. There. A whimpering sort of noise. You took your gun out of your waistband and began to follow the noise carefully to a thicket of nearby bushes, Nancy and Johnathon at your heels. 

“Oh, God,” Nancy gasped as the flashlight fell onto the source of the noise. 

It was a deer, lying on the forest floor, clearly injured by the amount of blood covering its fur. You grimaced as it made frantic whimpering noises. It must have been in terrible pain. 

“It’s been hit by a car,” she breathed. 

“How did it get out here then?” you asked, looking around. You were pretty far away from any road. 

“Must have wandered here until it collapsed,” Johnathon supplied. 

“We can’t just leave it,” Nancy said with a sigh. 

Nancy looked at her gun, her hands shaking. You put an hand on her arm. She was too sweet to kill a deer. 

“I’ll do it,” Johnathon offered. 

“I thought you said –” Nancy began.

“I’m not nine anymore,” Johnathon said. 

He took the gun from her and sighed. He pointed it at the deer and cocked it, but before he could pull the trigger a snarl ripped through the night and the deer was dragged off.

You all screamed. 

“What the fuck was that!?” you shouted. 

“I don’t know…let’s follow it,” Johnathon said, pointing his flashlight at the trail of blood.

“Uh, how about we don’t?!” you shrieked. 

“That’s kind of what we’re out here for!” he reminded you.

Warily, you crept forwards, following the bloody trail the deer left behind. Suddenly, the trail just stopped. No blood. No deer. 

“Where did it go?” Nancy asked in a trembling voice.

“I swear to god, if I get eaten by a bear Byers…” you huffed, searching the woods with your flashlight. 

You all spread out a few feet away from each other, looking. 

“Do you see any more blood?” you heard Johnathon call out. 

“No,” you called back. “Nancy?”

Silence met your ears.

“Uh, Nancy?” you called louder.

Your flashlight met Johnathon’s face and he squinted against the harsh light. 

“Where did Nancy go?” you asked. 


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A fight breaks out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really appreciate everyone who has given this story love. You guys are amazing.

“Where are you?” Johnathon shouted.

“Nancy?” you called.

And then you heard her. It was like an echo…like her voice was far away or muffled somehow. 

“Johnathon! Erin!” she called. “I’m right here!”

“Nancy!” Johnathon shouted, darting through the trees trying to follow her voice. 

“I’m right here!” she called again.

“Follow my voice!” Johnathon cried out. “Follow my voice Nancy, I’m right here!”

“Johnathon, look!” you called, pointing your flashlight at a nearby tree. 

He rushed over and stared. There was some kind of opening in the trunk of the tree, covered in some gooey membrane-like substance. It was making faint squelching noises. You had never seen anything like it. 

“What the fuck,” you breathed. “Do you think she went…through there?”

Johnathon stepped forwards and called into the opening. 

“Nancy? Nancy are you there?” he yelled. “Nancy?”

Suddenly an arm pushed out from inside the opening and you jumped. You heard her calling, closer now.

“Shit!” you exclaimed and moved forwards to help your best friend pull her through the weird membrane.

The two of you managed to pull her out, Nancy collapsing on Johnathon taking huge breaths and sobbing hysterically. 

“I got you,” Johnathon said softly, rubbing her back comfortingly. “I got you.”

You made it back home and took a long hot shower, yet you couldn’t stop shivering. Nancy had calmed down enough to tell you where she was and what she saw, though the girl had been crying and shaking violently as she spoke. You told Johnathon to take her home. You had all seen enough for the night. 

You curled in on yourself as you laid in bed, wishing desperately you had someone to comfort you. Your dad was absent again, so it was just you in the house and every little shadow seemed menacing. You clutched your gun close to you as you laid in bed, trying but failing to find sleep. 

The phone rang shrill and you jumped, scrambling to find the gun. Bright morning light spilled in through the windows and you sighed. You must have dozed off at some point. The phone continued to ring and you groaned. You stumbled into the kitchen, picking the phone up.

“Yeah?” you answered. 

“Erin? It’s Nancy,” the voice answered.

“Oh yeah. What’s up?” 

“Can you meet me and Johnathon at that old Army Surplus store in town?” she asked.

“Uh….yeah I guess. What’s going on?” you asked.

“We’re gonna get supplies to kill that thing,” she told you. “Clearly a baseball bat isn’t going to cut it.”

“We have two guns,” you said pointedly. 

“We need to trap it. This thing is fast. Getting a shot at it won’t be easy,” she said hurriedly.

“Yeah…alright. I’ll be there in 20,” you said. “Do you need a ride?”

“No..uh…Johnathon is already here,” she said nervously. 

You looked at the clock and grinned. 

“Oh is he?” you said, a suggestive tone in your voice. “At 7:30 in the morning.”

“Listen, it’s not like that. We didn’t..” she stuttered.

“Hey now I’m not here to judge,” you told her with a laugh. “I’m not gonna say anything to anyone. I gotta get dressed. I’ll see you both soon.”

You hung up the phone and smiled to yourself. At least your best friend was getting the girl of his dreams. Really, they were great together. Much better than Nancy and Steve. You stopped and frowned as you thought of Steve. Shit…had she broken up with him yet?

The answer to that question became very apparent to you after the three of you left the surplus store. You were packing your purchases into the trunk of Johnathon’s car, when some moron rode by jeering at Nancy. 

“Can’t wait to see your movie!” he called.

“What the hell was that?” Johnathon asked.

She didn’t answer, she just turned and headed across the street towards the movie theater. You and Johnathon chased after her, ignoring the weird looks people were giving you three. Nancy stopped dead in her tracks as she got a look at the theater sign. You sighed heavily as you read it. 

‘_All The Right Moves’ _and beside it, spray-painted in red _‘Starring Nancy the Slut Wheeler’._

“That asshole,” you swore, knowing who had to be behind this. 

The sound of snickering met your ears, and you followed Nancy as she made her way towards the alley behind the theater. Sure enough, Tommy, Carol, and Steve were there, leaning against Steve’s car. Tommy had a can of spray paint in his hands. 

Nancy stormed up to Steve, who had an angry look on his face, but his eyes held heartbreak. You almost felt bad for him. Almost. He definitely deserved the smack Nancy delivered across his face. 

“What is wrong with you?” she demanded. 

“What’s wrong with me? What is wrong with you!” he shot back. “I was worried about you. I can’t believe that I was actually worried about you.”

“What are you talking about?” she asked.

“I wouldn’t lie if I were you,” Carol jeered. “You wouldn’t want to be known as the lying slut now, would you?”

“Can it, Thompson,” you growled. “No one asked for your input.”

Johnathon walked up slowly, looking apprehensive. 

“Speak of the devil,” Tommy laughed. “Hi.”

“You came by last night?” Nancy guessed. 

“Ding! Ding! Ding! Does she get a prize?” Carol mocked.

“Look, I don’t know what you think you saw, but it wasn’t like that,” Nancy said defensively. 

“What you just let him into your room to… study?” Steve said softly. 

“Or for another pervy photo session?” Tommy laughed. 

“Tommy, I swear to god. Shut it before I shut it for you,” you said through clenched teeth. 

“We were just –” Nancy began. 

“You were just what?” Steve interrupted her. “Finish that sentence. Finish the sentence.”

It almost seemed like he was begging her. But she couldn’t finish the sentence. She couldn’t tell him that Johnathon was just comforting her after she almost got eaten by some weird monster from another dimension.

“Go to hell, Nancy,” Steve scoffed. 

“Come on Nancy,” Johnathon said. “Let’s just leave.”

“You know what Byers, I’m actually kind of surprised,” Steve said mockingly. “I always figured you were fucking Hopper. What, is she not putting out anymore?”

“Harrington, you are on very thin ice here,” you warned him. 

“What’s wrong, Erin? Is he not a good lay? It makes sense, I mean I always thought he was a queer,” he continued. “I guess he’s just a little screw up like his father.”

“Steve, fucking stop!” you shouted. 

He ignored you and began to shove Johnathon’s back, continuing to egg him on.

“Oh, yeah. Yeah the Byer’s house is full of screw-ups,” he goaded. “You know, I guess I shouldn’t really be surprised. A bunch of screw ups in your family. I mean your mom…I’m not even surprised what happened to your brother.”

“Steve, shut up!” Nancy yelled. 

“I’m sorry I have to be the one to tell you, but the Byers, their family is a disgrace to the entire—”

But Steve didn’t get a chance to finish that sentence. You were about to deck the guy again, but Johnathon beat you to it. He punched Steve so hard across the face. Steve recovered quickly and tackled Johnathon to the ground. Nancy began yelling at them to stop, but neither boy was listening.

You came up behind Steve and tried to lift him off your best friend, but Steve shoved you away and threw another punch at Johnathon, splitting his lip open. Johnathon managed to swing at Steve’s face, and the shorter guy fell backwards. Johnathon took this opportunity to pin him down, and started absolutely pummeling Steve’s face. 

“That’s enough Johnathon!” you yelled as police sirens filled the air. 

You tried to lift him off Steve, but was met with a hard push, and you fell back hard. Cops showed up at that moment and they managed to pull Johnathon off, but he clocked an officer hard across the face. 

_ Fucking moron! _

Tommy and Carol took off running as they managed to handcuff Johnathon and throw him in the police car. 

_ Greaaaat….Dad was going to just love this.  _

“Why does it not surprise me that you’re wrapped up in this?” Flo asked you as you followed the officers into the precinct. 

“At least I didn’t start it this time,” you commented offhandedly.

“Excuse me, is there any way I could get some ice for him?” Nancy asked Flo.

“Sure, hon. Follow me,” she said, leading her to the break room. 

You took a seat beside Johnathon and let out a sigh. Johnathon refused to look at you. 

“Well…I gotta hand it to you,” you began. “You sure can throw one hell of a punch. I’m a little proud. I just wish you would have stopped after one or two.”

“I couldn’t stop,” he said in a low voice. “I couldn’t think straight. I was just so angry and he just kept going.”

“I know,” you said soothingly. “He shouldn’t have egged you on. But when has Steve Harrington ever known when to shut his mouth? He was only trying to get a rise out of you. You should have just ignored him.”

“I couldn’t. Not after what he said about Will,” he said angrily.

“I’ll admit…that was officially carrying it too far,” you agreed. “I was about to punch him for that. I mean, I get the guy was heartbroken, thinking Nancy cheated on him with you…but damn. Boundaries.”

“Nothing even happened last night,” Johnathon said. “She was so terrified. We just slept, I swear.”

“Hey you don’t have to prove anything to me,” you said. “I’m just saying, to Steve, it looked like she had you all alone in her bedroom…well it’s easy to see why he thought that…”

Nancy appeared with an ice pack. She sat down on Johnathon’s other side and placed it gently against Johnathon’s face. 

“Thanks,” he muttered. “Everything okay?

“Yeah,” she said quickly. “Yeah, everything’s fine.”

They looked at each other, and suddenly you felt as if you were intruding on a private moment. You looked away, trying to give them some semblance of privacy. Suddenly, movement caught your eye. You looked up and saw Joyce and your dad rushing into the building, looking frazzled.

“Oh boy,” you breathed, making the other two teens look up. “Here we go.”


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Long chapter, lots of dialogue. Sorry!

Immediately, Joyce stormed over looking worried and shocked to see her eldest son handcuffed with a bloody lip. Your father as hot on her heels.

“Hey, Johnathon!” she exclaimed. “Jesus, what happened?”

“He beat the shit out of Steve Harrington,” you said calmly.

“I’m fine,” Johnathon said, throwing a dirty look your way.

“Why is he wearing handcuffs?” Joyce demanded, looking up at Officer Callahan.

“Well, your boy assaulted a police officer. That’s why,” Callahan said flatly.

“Oh, please,” you scoffed. “He barely got you.”

“Take them off!” Joyce demanded hotly.

“I am afraid I cannot do that,” Callahan said in a bored voice.

“TAKE THEM OFF!” Joyce shouted.

“You heard her. Take ‘em off,” your father said.

“Chief, I get everyone’s emotional here, but there’s something you need to see,” Officer Powell said.

He motioned for your father to follow him, and Officer Callahan joined them. As you watched their figures retreat out the doors you got up and moved to the back of the office.

“What are you doing?” Joyce asked.

“Getting Johnathon out of those handcuffs,” you said simply, digging through Callahan’s desk drawer. You found his keyring almost immediately. “Ah ha!”

You brought the little key over to your best friend and unlocked the cuffs.

“Thanks,” he said, rubbing his wrists.

“No problem,” you said with a grin.

“What the hell have you been up to?” Joyce asked her son.

He opened his mouth to reply, but your father came back in holding a large box…The box containing the monster hunting supplies you had all just purchased.

“What is this?” Joyce asked, looking through box.

“Why don’t you ask your son? We found it in his car,” your dad said, shooting you an angry glance.

“Why are you going through my car?” Johnathon demanded.

“Jeez, guys. Talk about an invasion of privacy,” you said rolling your eyes.

“Erin, now is really not the time,” your dad said roughly. “I wanna see all three of you in my office. Now.”

“You won’t believe us,” Johnathon said.

“Why don’t you give me a try?” your dad said softly, a dangerous glint in his eye.

“Johnathon,” you said in a low voice. “Do as he says.”

He looked up at you and you nodded. Something about the look in your Dad’s eyes told you that something had happened to him the past couple days. Something that would make him believe you. So you, Johnathon, Nancy, Joyce, and your father crammed into his little office. For a moment, no one spoke. You sighed and then launched into the story. Johnathon and Nancy helped in places where you hadn’t been there. You showed the two adults the picture that Johnathon had taken of the thing. You told them about the previous night and how Nancy had ended up in that weird parallel place. Nancy told them about her own theories about the creature. Finally, you ended up telling them about the fight with Steve and how it prompted Jonathon to be arrested.

“You say blood draws this thing?” your dad asked, looking at the photograph.

“We don’t know,” Johanthon said.

“It’s just a theory,” Nancy agreed.

“All we know is it definitely eats meat,” you said darkly.

Joyce and your dad stared were silent again.

“And you guys decided it was a good idea to hunt this thing?” your father barked, looking at you with a furrowed brow. “Alone and unarmed?”

“We weren’t unarmed,” you admitted, moving your coat out of the way to show his revolver stuffed in the waistband of your jeans.

“You stole my gun?” he protested in outrage. “Jesus, Erin! You could have shot yourself with it!”

“Please,” you scoffed. “I’ve been shooting since I was a kid. You know I can handle a gun. Better than these two at least.”

“You had a gun?” Joyce asked her son in outrage.

“I’m sorry, mom,” he said.

“What…you’re sorry!?” she exclaimed. “You’re sorry!? Ugh…you know what. We need to have a word in private.”

She bolted up and dragged her son out of the office. You sighed and shared a look with Nancy.

“Nancy, if you wouldn’t mind…I’d like a word with my daughter as well,” your dad said calmly.

“Oh, yeah,” Nancy said shooting up from her seat. “Yeah..I’ll just go..um out in the hall.”

She left and you groaned mentally. You turned to face your father’s wrath, but was shocked when he pulled you in for a bone crushing hug.

“Dad…can’t breathe,” you gasped.

“You could have died out there. And I wouldn’t have been there to protect you. You could have died,” he whispered, his voice thick with emotion.

“I’m okay, Dad,” you said softly, patting him on the back. “I can look after myself, you know.”

“I know you can baby girl,” he said pulling back. “But you still can’t just go off and face these kinds of things without letting me know. I can’t….I can’t lose you.”

“You’re not gonna lose me,” you said giving him a small smile. “I’m too stubborn to get killed. Just like my Dad.”

He smiled back at you and was about to say something, when a commotion out in the hall broke you out of your moment. Your father sighed and inched himself out of the office with you following. Outside in the department, a slightly plump middle aged woman was getting really bitchy with Officer Callahan. Beside her was a boy you guessed was her son.

“Where is the chief? I want to speak to him right this instant!” she demanded.

“Stay here,” your father muttered to you, Joyce, Johnathon and Nancy.

“Ma’am, I need you to calm down,” Callahan said slowly.

“What is your name, Deputy?” the woman asked rather rudely.

“Well, I’m an officer, okay?” Callahan said indignantly.

“Name and badge number, both of you!” she directed towards Callahan and Powell.

“What the hell is going on here?” your dad said loudly, heading towards the irate woman.

“Chief…” Powell began, but the woman interrupted.

“These men are humiliating my son!” she proclaimed.

“No, no, no. That’s not true,” Callahan began.

“There was some kind of fight, chief,” Powell said reasonably.

“A psychotic child broke his arm!” the woman exclaimed.

“A little girl, Chief. A little one,” Callahan said with a slight grin.

“That tone! Do you hear that tone?!” the woman snapped.

“Honestly, I’m just trying to state a fact,” the officer responded.

“I don’t have time for this,” your father growled. “Will you please take a statement and..”

You saw him motion towards the door and you almost laughed.

“So what’d this girl look like?” Callahan asked begrudgingly.

“She had no hair and she was bleeding from her nose,” the younger boy told him. “Like a freak!”

Your father stopped dead in his tracks. Slowly, he turned around.

“What did you just say?” he asked slowly.

“I said she’s a freak!” the kid said loudly.

“No, her hair. What’d you say about her hair?” your father asked firmly.

“Her head’s shaved. She doesn’t even look like a girl,” the boy said, his voice lower. “And…She can…do things.”

“What kinds of things,” your father asked.

“Like…make you fly. And piss yourself,” he admitted.

“What?” Powell asked with a laugh.

“Was she alone?” your father asked quickly.

“No…she always hangs out with those losers,” the kid said hotly.

“Losers? What losers?”

“Mike Wheeler, Lucas Sinclair, Dustin Henderson…those losers,” the kid told him.

“Right….” Your father said slowly. “Ok, you two, continue to take a statement. I got something to check on.”

With that he turned, leaving the woman sputtering indignantly. He strode across the office to where you were all watching.

“We gotta find your brother,” your father said, looking at Nancy. “Right now.”

You all piled into Johnathon’s car and sped off towards the Wheelers. On the way your father briefly explained about how the government was wrapped up in this, using the disguise of Hawkins Lab. He told you about a science experiment of theirs, a girl that had escaped and the real reason Benny had died. You frowned, afraid that if they had killed Benny just for having contact with this mysterious girl, then they would no doubt do the same to Nancy’s little brother and his friends.

Indeed, when you arrived, your father had to park some distance away because there were several cars in the Wheeler’s driveway. A quick glance through a pair of binoculars (one of the items you had bought at the army surplus store) showed you all government agents taking boxes of Mike’s belongings from the house.

You sat in the back seat of the car between Johnathon and Nancy. Joyce and your dad took the front seats. They turned around to face you three.

“Look, we need to find them before they do,” your father began. “Do you have any idea where he might have gone?”

“No, I don’t,” she groaned.

“I need you to think,” your dad demanded.

“I don’t know. We haven’t talked a lot. I mean lately….” she said sadly.

“Is there any place that your parents don’t know about that he might go?” Joyce pleaded.

“I don’t know…” she stuttered.

“I might,” Johnathon spoke up from beside you. “I don’t know where he is, but I think I know how to ask him.”

You looked at him, the wheels in your mind beginning to turn.

“The radio!” you gasped, remembering the younger Byers carrying it around like it was a lifeline.

Johnathon nodded towards you.

“Take us home,” Johnathon told your father.

Johnathon’s house was a mess. Christmas lights hung all over the ceiling. Above the couch, the alphabet was painted onto the wallpaper, lights hanging above every letter. But you had no time to observe the destruction. Instead, you followed Johnathon into Will’s bedroom and began searching the room. You found the walkie-talkie under the boy’s bed.

“Got it!” you said standing up.

You all watched her try to get in contact with her little brother. She begged him several times to answer, but no one responded. Your father took the radio and tried as well. After several long moments of silence, the boy finally responded and told you where he was.

As much as you wanted to go and help retrieve the kids, your father refused to let anyone go with him. He told you to all stay there and that he would be back. You sat on the porch while he was gone, giving Johnathon and Nancy some privacy. He was gone maybe an hour before his headlights shone through the night, signaling his return. You sighed in relief.

Joyce, Nancy and Johnathon all ran outside as soon as he pulled up. Nancy ran to your father’s car, pulling her little brother into a hug. You smiled at them a little sadly, then you noticed the little girl they had brought back. You smiled at her and she smiled back at you a little shy. 

“Okay kid,” your father said to Mike. “You got some explaining to do. Come on.”

Everyone went into the Byer’s living room and Mike started explaining about the parallel universe called the Upside Down, and how there was a gate or a portal that led to it. 

“Is this gate underground?” your father asked suddenly.

“Yes,” the girl (who everyone had been calling El) said softly. She seemed to speak very quietly, as if she were afraid of upsetting anyone. Poor kid must have been through a lot. 

“Near a large water tank?” your dad continued.

“Yes,” she said again.

“How….How do you know all that?” Dustin stuttered. 

“He’s seen it,” Mike guessed. 

“Yeah, when he decided to infiltrate Hawkins Lab on his own,” you scoffed, rolling your eyes. 

“He what?!” Lucas gasped.

“Is there any way that you could…that you could reach Will?” Joyce asked El. “That you could talk to him in this…The Upside Down?”

El nodded. 

“And my friend Barbara?” Nancy interjected. “Can you find her too?”

She nodded again. She told you she needed noise, so you turned the television on to pure static. She sat at the table with her eyes closed while the rest of you watched with bated breath. She took a deep breath and the lights began to flicker. A couple minutes passed when she opened her eyes, looking remorseful.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I can’t find them.”

She looked like she was ready to cry. 

“Hey, that’s okay kiddo,” you said soothingly. “You tried your best. You probably just need some rest. Maybe some food. Let’s get you cleaned up, okay?”

She smiled and gave you a nod and you led her to the bathroom. 

“I’m Erin,” you told her, wetting a washcloth. You handed her the cloth and she began cleaning her face. “If you want, you could probably take a bath. I don’t think we’ll be going anywhere anytime soon with those government guys looking for us.”

She frowned, thinking hard about something. 

“El, what is it?” you asked her. 

“Bath,” she whispered. 

She grabbed your hand and led you out of the bathroom. In the kitchen, everyone was gathered around the table talking quietly. 

“The bath,” El announced.

“What?” Joyce asked. 

“I can find them,” the girl said firmly. “In the bath.”

“What do you mean?” you asked her. “Like..you have to be underwater?”

“And blindfolded,” she said with a nod. 

“Like a sensory deprivation tank!” Dustin said excitedly. “I’ve heard of those! You can’t see or hear anything, and the water is like…salt water so you float!”

El nodded again.

“Great…where the hell are we gonna find one of those?” your father sighed. 

“I may know someone who knows how to make one!” Dustin responded, and he dashed for the telephone.

After a hurried discussion on the phone, he began writing down everything needed to make a sensory deprivation tank. He hung the phone up and looked up at Joyce.

“Do we still have that kiddie pool we bobbed for apples in?” 

“Uh…yeah I think so,” she said.

“Good. Then we just need salt. Lots of it,” he said.

“How much is ‘lots’?” your father asked. 

Dustin checked his paper. 

“1,500 pounds.”

“Jesus…where are we gonna get that much salt? I doubt even the grocery store has that much in stock,” you breathed. 

“I think I know,” your dad said slowly. “The school…they keep bags of it for the winter. To get the ice off the sidewalks.”

“Yeah…that could work!” Dustin exclaimed. 

“Well…..I guess we’re going to school,” you said tiredly. 

Once you were at the middle school, you all split up. Johnathon and you father went to grab the bags of salt. You decided to help Dustin and Lucas with the pool. You decided to set it up in the gym so you would have plenty of room. 

“Damn this thing is heavy,” Dustin said, rolling it across the floor.

“Gimme that,” you sighed, taking the pool from the boy. 

“Thanks,” he said. “Hey, why are you helping us anyways?”

“Come on. Will is like family,” you grunted, putting the pool down in the center of the gym. “He’s like the younger brother I never had.”

“He used to talk about you,” Lucas said with a nod. “You know, you’re a lot cooler than I thought you’d be.”

“What do you mean?” you asked, spreading the pool out with difficulty.

“You know…you’re the police chief’s daughter,” he said slowly. 

“Yeah, we always thought you would be all…strict,” Dustin said. “But Will always said that you were just like us.”

“Please,” you scoffed. “I’m way cooler than you. Look, I’ve got a gun!”

You laughed and showed them your revolver.

“We have a friend with superpowers!” Dustin said pointedly.

“Hmm…you’re right. Alright, you guys win. You’re cooler than me,” you said with a laugh. 

Lucas and Dustin high fived and you laughed again.

“Wait until we tell Will!” Dustin said with a gummy smile. 

It took some effort, but with everyone’s help, you managed to get the pool filled up just enough with the right amount of salt and at the right temperature. You all stood around the pool watching as El climbed inside. She lay down in the center, mask around her eyes, her pink dress billowing out around her. 

Almost immediately, the lights began to flicker. Several moments passed, all in baited silence. 

“Barb?” she whispered. 

Nancy gasped. 

El’s breathing picked up and she whispered the missing girls name again. She gasped and the lights began flickering even more frantically. 

“What’s going on?” Nancy asked.

“I don’t know,” Johnathon said. 

“Should we pull her out?” you asked, afraid for the young girl.

“Not just yet,” your father said quietly. 

“Is Barb okay?” Nancy asked the girl in the tub.

“Gone! Gone!” El breathed, repeating the word over and over. 

“It’s okay,” Joyce told the girl soothingly. “It’s okay.”

“El?” you asked.

“It’s okay, we’re right here honey,” Joyce said. “I’m right here with you.”

“Castle Byers,” El gasped. 

Everyone froze, watching the girl intently. It was dead quiet for several minutes. 

“Will?” she whispered. 

“You tell him I’m coming,” Joyce said desperately. 

She repeated the message softly. 

Then suddenly as if he were there with you, you all heard the sound of Will’s voice, coming through the radio.

“Hurry,” he said. 

“Okay,” Joyce said on the edge of tears. “Listen, you tell him to…stay where he is. We’re coming. We’re coming, okay? We’re coming honey!”

Suddenly, El began whimpering and she gasped, shooting out of the tub. She started sobbing and you moved forwards to embrace the girl at the same time Joyce did. 

“It’s okay honey,” Joyce said. “You did so good.”

“Are you okay, El?” you asked, helping her out of the tub and placing a towel around her shoulders. 

She was crying, but she nodded. 

“Let’s get you a blanket or something,” you said, leading her over to the bleachers to sit. 

A blanket was found and you wrapped her up in it as Mike, Lucas and Dustin came to sit with her. 

“You’re a badass, you know?” you told the girl.

“Badass?” she whispered.

“It means you kick major butt. You’re one of the bravest people I’ve ever met,” you said giving her a smile.

She smiled back at you weakly. 

“You guys try to keep her warm okay?” you said looking at the young boys. They nodded and you moved to join the adults. 

“So this fort…Where is it?” your dad asked. 

“Uh, its in the woods behind our house,” Jonathon said. 

“Yeah, he used to go there to hide,” Joyce told him. 

Your father nodded and started walking off towards the exit. 

“Hey, wait!” you shouted after him. 

You, Joyce, and Johnathon all took off, following him outside. 

“Get back inside!” your father commanded you.

“No way!” you said hotly.

“What are you insane?” Joyce asked. 

“Yeah, you can’t go alone!” you told him.

“I’m the only one who’s seen this gate. I know how to get in there,” he said waving you both off. 

“Because it worked so well last time!” you shot back.

“I am NOT staying behind,” Joyce shouted. “He’s my son, Hop. MY son. I’m going!”

Your father sighed.

“Fine,” he conceded. He turned to you. “But you are absolutely staying here.”

“The hell I am!” you shouted.

“Hey! Language!” your father said scolding you. “Listen, there is no way I’m letting you go with us. I need to get the kid out safely, and I can’t do that if I have to worry about protecting you the whole time.”

“I can handle myself!” you said indignantly.

“I know you can!” your father shouted back. He sighed heavily. “I know you can handle yourself. You’ve been doing it for years now. But I need you to stay here and look after the others. Please, Erin. Listen to me this once.”

You stared at each other for several long silent seconds. The look in his eyes said you weren’t gonna win this one. 

“Fine,” you whispered. “But you better come back in once piece or I’m gonna be seriously pissed.”

“Of course I’ll come back in once piece,” he said, bringing you in for a hug. “I’m too stubborn to get killed. Like my daughter.”

You hugged him tighter. 

You and Johnathon found Nancy inside on the hallway floor. You both sat beside her. For a moment, no one spoke. You seemed to all be lost in your own thoughts. You were thinking about your father, hoping he would make it back okay and wishing he would have let you go with him. 

“We have to go back to the police station,” Nancy said softly.

“What?” Johnathon asked.

“Your mom…and your dad….they’re just walking in there like bait,” she said looking at the two of you. “That thing is still in there. And we can’t just sit here and let it get them too.”

“So you want us to be the bait?” you asked, your brow furrowed. “Draw it out to us?”

“I wanna finish what we started,” she said firmly. “I want to kill it.”

“Me too,” Johnathon said, nodding. 

They both looked at you.

“Good thing I stole a spare key to the station while I was in Callahan’s desk,” you said, smiling at them, pulling out a small key from your back pocket. 


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You set a trap, kick monster butt, nearly get eaten...what’s that? Steve Harrington is saving your ass? And he’s done being a total douche? Uh oh!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the lack of updates! Work has been crazy. I truely appreciate all the love and support I’ve been getting for this story. You guys are awesome!

Getting the box of monster hunting equipment from the police station was a breeze. Forming a plan on how to trap and kill the monster took a little more effort. You knew what would draw it, so you knew you would have to use your blood as bait. With Johnathon and Nancy’s help, you decided to trap it and burn the son of a bitch. Johnathon decided it would be best to do it at his house, since the creature had come out of the walls there before. When you got to the Byer’s house, you all went to work.

You put the lightbulbs back into the Christmas lights that littered the ceiling. You loaded up your father’s revolver while Nancy loaded Johnathon’s gun. Johnathon, deciding he preferred a melee weapon, hammered nails into Nancy’s baseball bat. Then you all got to work setting the trap. Once everything was in place, you all stopped to look at each other.

“Guess we just need the bait,” you sighed. “I’ll….go get a knife.”

You left them and went into the kitchen. You grabbed three steak knives from the cutlery drawer, bringing them back into the living room. You handed a knife to both of them.

“Let’s go over the plan again,” Johnathon said. “Remember…”

“Straight into Will’s room,” Nancy said nodding.

“And don’t step on the beartrap,” you offered.

“Wait for the yo-yo to move,” Nancy said.

“Then…we torch it,” Johnathon said. “Ready?”

You all looked at each other, smiling slightly at the insane situation you were about to put yourselves into.

“On three,” Johnathon suggested.

“One…two…three,” you all counted out loud before sliding the blades across your palms.

You heard the hiss of pain Nancy let out and you looked up to make sure she hadn’t cut too deep.

“I’m okay,” she reassured you.

“Shit, let me get some bandages,” Johnathon said quickly.

“Woops,” you laughed, holding your bleeding hand up. “Guess we should have thought of that before.”

He retrieved some gauze from a first aid kit Joyce had kept under the sink. He offered to wrap Nancy’s hand and she offered to wrap yours. You waved her away and took a strip of gauze. You let them have their moment, tending to each other’s wounds as you wrapped your own hand. A creaking noise had Nancy jumping, but Johnathon quickly calmed her down. They really were great together. You hoped that if you all survived the night that they would make it official.

“My mom said the lights speak when it comes,” he assured her.

“Speak?”

“Blink,” he said. “Think of them as alarms.”

She nodded and finished wrapping his hand.

“At least we’ll all have some pretty cool battle scars,” you said, flexing your fingers to your injured palm. “You know, if we don’t die.”

“We’re not gonna die Erin,” Johnathon assured you. “We’ve got a solid plan. This is going to work.”

You opened your mouth to reply but jumped about a foot in the air when someone banged on the front door. 

“Johnathon,” a muffled voice called. “Are you there, man?”

“Is that….,” you began.

“Steve?!” Nancy finished for you. 

“Listen, I just want to talk!” he pleaded from outside. 

“What the absolute fuck is he doing here?” you asked the room. 

“I don’t know,” Nancy replied, wide eyed.

“Well get rid of him!” you told her. 

She nodded and crossed the room. She cracked the door and you heard her tell Steve to leave. 

“I’m not trying to start anything, okay?” he said desperately. At least he sounded sincere.

“I don’t care. You need to leave,” she said firmly. 

“No, no, no,” he stammered. “Please listen. I messed up, okay? Please. I just want to make things right.”

You huffed annoyed, and stomped over to the door. You wrenched it open and shot a glare at him. 

“Listen, Harrington. Now is not a good time for apologies. You can have this conversation tomorrow, but for now you need to get out of here,” you told him.

“What…Erin? What are you doing here? Shit….is that blood!?” Steve stammered out, his eyes on your bloody hand. His eyes fell to Nancy’s injured palm. “What the hell is going on?”

“Nothing that concerns you,” you told him. 

“No, what the hell is this?” he persisted. “Let me in.”

He pushed his way inside, ignoring Nancy’s protests and your annoyed sighs. He looked around the messy house, taking in the Christmas lights, the bear trap, the painted letters on the wall, and the weapons laying around. 

“You need to get the hell out of here,” Johnathon said standing up. “I’m not asking you.”

He grabbed the front of Steve’s shirt and began pushing him out of the room. 

“What is that smell?” Steve asked in a panicky voice, referring to the thick smell of gasoline that permeated throughout the house. 

“Steve, get out!” Nancy shouted, pointing her revolver at him.

“Nancy! What the hell!” you shouted as Steve freaked out. “Never point a gun at someone you’re not willing to shoot!”

“You have 5 seconds to get out of here,” she told her boyfriend. 

“Nancy what the hell!” Steve shouted. 

She started counting down, ignoring you as you continued to scold her for pointing the gun at Steve. You stopped when the lights started flickering.

“Uh, Nancy,” Johnathon said. “The lights!”

She stopped at two. 

“Shit,” you whispered as the lights began blinking rapidly.

“It’s here,” Nancy said.

“What’s here?!” Steve shouted, clearly still freaked out. 

“Where is it?” Johnathon asked. 

“I don’t know, I don’t see it anywhere,” you said looking around.

“Hello? Can someone please explain what the fuck is going on?” Steve yelled.

The corner of the ceiling collapsed, and you all stared in horror as the monster began clawing its way out of the sheetrock. You pulled out your pistol and moved to stand in front of Steve who was the weakest of the group. Nancy got off a couple shots and you fired once, but it didn’t seem to faze the creature. It let out a horrific roar landed on the floor in front of you. 

“Go! RUN!” he screamed. 

You grabbed Steve’s arm and pulled him down the hall after the others.

“Jump!” you warned him as you approached the string trap. 

You shoved Steve through to Johnathon’s bedroom and slammed the door behind you.

“Jesus! What the fuck was that!?” Steve screamed.

“Shut up!” Johnathon, Nancy and you screamed at the same time, your eyes on the door. 

The lights were still blinking and you heard the eerie screech of the monster beyond the door. Suddenly, the lights all went out and it went dead silent. 

“What’s it doing?” Nancy whispered. 

“I don’t know,” Johanthon replied. 

“What the hell was that thing?” Steve asked. 

“Something that wants to kill us,” you told him flatly. “Should we check and see if it’s still out there?”

“I’m not going out there!” Steve protested.

“I’ll check,” Johnathon said. 

He opened the door and crept out into the hall silently. Nancy followed, and you snuck after her. The hallway was clear. The beartrap hadn’t been set off. You all snuck forwards into the living room to find it empty as well. The lights had come back on.

“It’s clear,” you called to Steve and he came back into the living room looking terrified. 

He was muttering to himself nonsensically and you rolled your eyes. 

“Okay, time for you to go,” you said, pushing him towards the door. 

“Are you crazy? We all need to get the hell out of here!” he said fanatically.

“Nope, just you,” you said. “That thing is going to come back and you don’t want to be here when it does.”

“She’s right Steve,” Nancy said. “You need to leave. Now.”

Steve looked around at the three of you like you had all lost your minds. He shook his head and bolted for the door. 

“At least that gets rid of one problem,” you sighed right as the lights began blinking rapidly again. “Time to get rid of the other.”

You stood back to back to back with Nancy and Johnathon in the center of the room. Johnathon raised his nail studded bat while you and Nancy drew your guns. 

“Come on you son of a bitch,” Johanthon muttered. “Come on.”

Quite suddenly, the lights were extinguished. The three of you fell silent, and you shivered as you heard a menacing growl. Suddenly, Johnathon was knocked several feet away. The lights began flickering again, allowing you to see the creature bearing down on him. 

“Hey!” you shouted.

Comically, the monster looked up at you and you fired shot after shot into it’s ugly face. Beside you, Nancy helped. It screeched at the pair of you before knocking Nancy away as if she weighed nothing. Suddenly, it leaped for you with a roar. 

You screamed as you fell backwards and tripped over the coffee table, landing painfully on the floor. The monster was on top of you, pinning you down with its long clawed arms. You felt it rip into your shoulder and you let out a loud scream. It’s head opened up to show you rows of jagged teeth. You were sure it was going to be the last thing you ever saw. 

And then, the monster was swept off you by the most unlikely person. Steve fucking Harrington. The same Steve Harrington who had been ready to piss himself a few minutes ago. The same Steve Harrington that had bolted from the house the first chance he got. There he was, holding the nail studded bat, beating the shit out of the monster that had nearly just taken your head off. He beat the thing back and it roared in pain as it stepped into the bear trap on the floor. 

“It’s in the trap!” Nancy yelled.

Johnathon threw his lighter onto the floor and there was a rush of heat as the floor burst into flames, engulfing the monster. It roared in pain, it’s shrieks echoing throughout the house. You managed to prop yourself up enough to see it enflamed. Johnathon put the flames out with a fire extinguisher and the room went black. You tried to stand up, but your legs wouldn’t support you.

“Fuck,” you cried out in pain. You felt warm sticky liquid pour down your arm and you knew you had to be losing a good amount of blood judging by the way your head was swimming. 

“Shit, are you okay?” Steve asked, coming over to you as the lights began to come back on. 

“Where did it go?” you heard Nancy ask Jonathon.

“Is it dead?” you asked Steve weakly. 

“It seems to be,” he said, crouching down to your level. “Your arm is pretty fucked up. You’re definitely gonna need stitches.”

“Yeah, I kinda figured,” you said with a grimace as the pain began to grow now the adrenaline had begun to leave your system. 

“Here, let me help you up,” he said, pulling your good arm around his shoulders. 

“Thanks Steve,” you said weakly getting to your feet. 

You managed to stand on your own for a few seconds before the world became blurry.

“Oh shit, Erin!” Johnathon called out, finally taking his eyes off the charred carpet. 

“Yeah, I’m gonna pass out,” you announced before your knees buckled. 

A strong pair of hands caught you and you looked into the warm hazel eyes of Steve fucking Harrington as the world faded and fell into the black nothingness of unconsciousness. 

——————————

Your head felt fuzzy. Like you were trying to swim to the surface, but were being held down by the weight of your own skull. You groaned and you were vaguely aware of a weight settling on your right leg. 

“Erin? You awake, babygirl?” you heard a voice call.

“Am now,” you muttered. Your mouth felt thick, like it was full of cotton.

Slowly, you blinked your eyes open. It took several long moments before you understood what you were seeing. White walls. Glaring fluorescent lights. Sterile environment. 

_ Hospital _ , your brain provided.

You turned your head to see your father sitting in a chair beside the bed you were laying in. 

“Dad?” you questioned. “How did I get here?”

“Your friends brought you here after…” his voice trailed off. 

You furrowed your brows, thinking hard. Suddenly it came back to you. Johnathon’s house. The monster nearly biting your head off. Steve saving you with that nailed bat. You gasped loudly.

“Easy, baby,” your dad said, patting your leg. “You’re safe now. You’re alright.”

“But what happened to the monster? Are the others okay? What about Will?” you asked rapidly.

“Would you calm the hell down? Everyone is just fine. The monster is gone. Will is in the room across the hall. He’s still asleep right now, but the doctors say he’ll be just fine after some rest,” your father said. 

“Oh,” you said softly.

You tried to move and felt restricted on your right side. You looked down at your right shoulder and saw it was covered in thick white bandages. Lucky for you, you didn’t feel any pain. They must have pumped you full of pain killers, hence the grogginess. 

“Try not to move your arm too much,” your father said. “You uh…were hurt pretty bad. You had to have over 50 stitches.”

“Shit,” you breathed. “That’s gonna leave a mark. Why aren’t you yelling at me right now?”

“You want me to yell at you?” your father asked you bewildered. 

“I mean…not really,” you said. “I just figured you would be giving me some kind of lecture about how dumb it was to go after that thing.”

“Oh we are going to have words about this,” your father promised darkly. “But not while you’re still in the hospital all torn up. The lecture can wait until you’re healed up some.”

“Oh how generous,” you said rolling your eyes and grinning. 

He gave you a stern look, but a smile broke out across his face. After a moment, it faded and a haunted look took it’s place. 

“Goddamnit you scared the hell out of me, kid,” he said, his voice breaking slightly. “When they carried you in here, you were as white as a sheet. For a second I thought I lost you.”

“Nah. Just a flesh wound. I’ll be right as rain in a week,” you said. You tried to move your arm and winced in pain. “Ugh….make that two weeks.”

“Doctors say you’ll be in an arm sling for at least 3 weeks,” he warned you. “Don’t overdo it or you’ll pop your stitches open.”

“Got it,” you said. 

A knock sounded on the door. Steve poked his head in and blinked.

“Oh…uh sorry to interrupt. Some government guys are askin for you out here chief,” Steve said.

“Right…I’ll be back in a little bit kiddo,” your father said. He bent down to kiss your temple and you felt your face heat up in embarrassment. “Why don’t you keep her company, Harrington?”

Steve nodded and came to take your father’s chair. The door closed behind your father and you both just looked at each other. His lip was still split, and the bruises were still visible on his face from where Johnathon had beat the shit out of him, but his eyes were warm and filled with an emotion you couldn’t place.

“Listen, Steve,” you said breaking the silence. “Thank you for what you did back there. You…saved my life.”

“Oh…don’t worry about it. It was nothing,” Steve said dismissively.

“It was NOT nothing,” you said seriously. “What you did was incredibly stupid and reckless and dangerous…but it was also the bravest thing I’ve ever seen.”

He stared at you with wide eyes, a small grin forming on his lips. 

“You know…that’s the nicest thing you’ve said to me in years,” he said softly. 

“I know,” you told him. “I’m sorry for that.”

“No, no, no!” he said quickly catching you by surprise. “I’m the one who should be sorry. Listen, I know I’ve been a total douche these past few years. I was caught up in all that social bullshit, trying to be the most popular but I’ve realized something these past couple of days. That shit doesn’t matter. It’s all fake. People like Tommy and Carol….they’re all fake. And you were right. If I keep going on this way, I’ll end up stayin here for the rest of my life and I’ll never make anything of myself.”

You blinked at him in shock. 

“Wow…what..uh what brought all this on?” you asked slowly.

“These past few days have been a complete mindfuck,” he said with a grin. “First with thinking Nancy cheated on me, then with that shit with Johnathon….and then seeing that monster nearly kill you…shit Erin. When I heard you scream…it was like my first instinct was to protect you. It was like we were kids again. I ran in there without even thinking. I really miss you, you know? We used to be so close. Do you…do you think we could be friends again? You know….if I stop acting like a complete jackass?”

You stared into his hazel eyes and saw the boy you used to spend every afternoon with. The boy you used to spend hours in his tree house. The boy you had shared your first kiss with when you were both 6. And yet, you also saw the ridiculously attractive man he had become…all chiseled features and volumous hair…the man that saved your life. That made your stomach squirm a bit. But no…nope. No way. That’s a dangerous line of thought. You didn’t want to get anywhere near that way of thinking. No, it was better to think of him as either the jackass he had been acting like lately, or the kid you used to be best friends with. You could do that. 

“I’d like that, Steve,” you said quietly. “I’d like that a lot.”

He smiled at you, a real toothy smile and you felt something squirm in your stomach again.

Well…shit. 


End file.
